Mack Brown is in discussions with North Carolina about returning as the school's football coach, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.
The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.
Brown, who went 69–46–1 in 10 seasons at North Carolina from 1988-97, stepped down as Tar Heels coach to take the Texas job.
He has been an ESPN college football analyst for the past five years.
Discussions between Brown and North Carolina were first reported by Inside Carolina.
Brown would replace Larry Fedora after the Tar Heels went 5-18 the past two seasons. Fedora was fired on Sunday.
Rebuilding at North Carolina would be nothing new for the 67-year-old Brown. He went 1-10 in his first two seasons in Chapel Hill before turning the program into one of the best in the ACC. The Tar Heels won 10 games in each of his final two seasons.
He then went to Texas compiled a 158–48 record in 16 seasons, including a national championship in 2005.